Earlier today, news officially broke that European luxury watch retailer Bucherer has bought Tourneau, the single largest watch retailer in the United States. With 28 retail locations across 10 states, including a few large flagship stores in major cities like New York and San Francisco, Tourneau carries a wide selection of brands and also deals in pre-owned watches.

Bucherer, established in 1888, bought Tourneau from the investor group Green Equity Investors IV, L.P. (an affiliate of Leonard Green & Partners L.P.) in a move to expand its boutique footprint in the U.S. According to Business Wire's report, Guido Zumbühl, CEO of the Bucherer Groups, said, "With this acquisition, we will immediately introduce the Bucherer brand to millions of potential customers in one of the most important global watch and jewelry markets. This is also a great opportunity to firmly establish the Carl F. Bucherer brand in the U.S. and introduce Bucherer Fine Jewellery into the North American market."

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Tourneau has been in the business almost as long as Bucherer (it was founded in 1900), and CEO Ira Melnitsky commented, "Burcherer is a dream partner for Tourneau... As our business continues to perform and grown, this is a natural next step for the company." It will be interesting to see how this move unfolds over the coming months and years, and how the two brands co-exist (or don't) in the U.S. retail space. This is a story that's just getting started.